Anyone who practised the U Ba Khin meditation method at Oakenholt Buddhist Centre may remember Daw San Yee who worked tirelessly to help the course organisers, and volunteer caterers who ran the retreats.

Her husband, U Myat Saw, who was a wealthy Burmese businessman, bought the country house of Oakenholt a few miles outside Oxford, and the family ran it as a meditation centre.

When I first began practising vipassanā meditation, I spent many happy weeks at Oakenholt meditation centre (which has now been sold and has become a care home).

After I moved to Birmingham in 1976 to stay with Sayādaw U Rewata Dhamma, we made frequent visits to Oakenholt to visit Daw San Yee.

When I ordained in 1979, it was at Oakenholt, during a Mahāsi Vipassanā retreat. On that occasion, the owner U Myat Saw, performed an opening ceremony to inaugurate the Mahāsi retreat.

I will be attending the cremation service for Daw San Yee at Mortlake Crematorium on this coming Saturday (tomorrow) at 12:00 noon.

Thanks for this notification, bhante. The centre at Oakenholt was slightly before my time, but I recall meeting Mrs. Saw many times at Dr. Rewata's vihara in Edgbaston and then later when I was an anagarika at Ajahn Khemadhammo's monastery on the Isle of Wight.

My heartfelt commiserations to the family of Mrs Saw, whom I found out today, passed away in October 2013. I was amongst the first of a small group of lay persons, to be Ordained at Oakenholt Buddhist Centre, as a novice monk for a short period of time, during which I had deep religious experiences following on from my diligent practice under Dr H. Saddhatissa and Dr R. Dhamma. Mrs Saw and her family are amongst the pioneers of Buddhism to the UK.